Something scientists have come to understand is that slime molds are much smarter than they look. One species in particular, the SpongeBob SquarePants–yellow Physarum polycephalum, can solve mazes, mimic the layout of man-made transportation networks and choose the healthiest food from a diverse menu—and all this without a brain or nervous system. “Slime molds are redefining what you need to have to qualify as intelligent,” Reid says.

__________________ "So let me get this straight. We have the event of the year on TV with millions watching around the world... and people want a punt, pass, and kick competition to be the halftime entertainment?? Folks, don't quit your day jobs."- Matty

Canadian Scott Routley, from London, Ontario, communicated with researchers via a brain scan, proving that he is conscious and aware. It is the first time such a severely brain-damaged patient has been able to provide clinically relevant information to doctors.

British neuroscientist Professor Adrian Owen, who leads the research team at the Brain and Mind Institute of Western Ontario, said: "Scott has been able to show he has a conscious, thinking mind. We have scanned him several times and his pattern of brain activity shows he is clearly choosing to answer our questions. We believe he knows who and where he is."

Experimenters from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences [joined with] the Vivekananda Yoga Research Foundation, Bangalore, India to perform “Probably the first fMRI study to analyse the neuroanatomical correlates of telepathy.”

They asked Mr. Gerard Senehi, “well known for his mind reading and telepathy”, to try to reproduce an unseen sketch which had been drawn by the experimenter. An anonymous control subject was also tested. During their attempts, both individuals were continuously scanned in an fMRI machine.

“The image reproduced by the ‘mentalist’ showed striking similarity to the original drawn by the experimenter, whereas the drawing by the control subject did not. Furthermore, the fMRI scans showed measurable differences in brain activity of the two subjects — “This study’s findings are suggestive of an association between telepathy and the right parahippocampal gyrus.”